Unearthed After a Millennium: The Mysterious Viking Gold Armband Discovered on Isle of Man Could Rewrite History
The Discovery Of A 1,000-Year-Old Viking Armband Made Of Gold
Manx National HeritageRonald Clucas (left) has been metal detecting for 50 years.
The armband was creating by plaiting eight gold rods together, a specialized technique executed by a highly skilled smith. The fragment that Clucas found was folded in two, measuring 1.4 inches long, meaning it would have been around three inches long originally. It weighed in at just under one ounce, which is fairly hefty considering its size.
Clucas said the discovery was “quite a big shock,” in a statement to Manx National Heritage.
“I couldn’t really believe it at first!” Clucas said. “Gold generally gives a very low signal on the detector, so you can’t really predict what is going to be uncovered. I’ve been detecting for many years now and found some wonderful things, but to find a piece of gold from the Viking Age, that’s really something else.”
This discovery puts a spotlight on the Isle of Man’s Viking history, illustrating how the society’s multifaceted economy functioned. As the National Heritage explained, the Isle of Man, in the Viking Age, saw the use of both coins and bullion (silver and/or gold) as a form of currency for trade. As such, jewelry such as this armband served multiple purposes.
“Jewelry items such as this had several functions in the Viking Age both as prized personal possessions and visible displays of wealth,” said Allison Fox, Curator for Archaeology at the Manx National Heritage. “They were easily portable and were also used to cover costs in financial transactions.”
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